A Collection of Jet Set Radio Drabbles
by TEi Has Pants
Summary: Chapter 4 up. I present to you a different spin on the popular RhythYoyo pairing from JSRF.
1. Moving Forward

**Title:** _Moving Forward_

**Fandoms:** Jet Grind Radio, Jet Set Radio Future

**Word Count:** 511

**Rating:** PG

**Timeline:** Following the events of Jet Grind Radio

**Summary:** Beat, Gum and Tab prioritize the next move for the GGs. It's not your standard crossover, but since elements from both games are present, I'm counting it as one.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Jet Set Radio blah blah.

---

Tab sat on the floor with his legs crossed, the top half of his boiler suit peeled away, lying in a bundle around his waist. He had his beanie pulled just high enough to expose his eyes to his current project, granting him better line of sight. With black rubber gloves on his hands and a toolbox at his side, the founding GG went to work tightening a series of screws on a rounded, metal chassis.

"So," Gum said, lying back on the couch Tab usually occupied, her head lolled back, "what now? We felled the Rokkaku Group and pounded down our rivals. The GGs are on top and unofficial public heroes. Where do we go from here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tab cast his glance over to the speaker, and the gang's leader, Beat. The redhead sat back on his haunches, a box of dog food in his hand; he overturned the contents into a metal bowl sitting in front of a white kennel, and the boy's pet bulldog, Potts, poked his head out of the entrance, nose twitching.

"I think I have an idea," Tab said. "But enlighten us anyway, Bossman."

"Expansion." The word was accompanied by Beat's trademark ear-to-ear smile. "But you already know this, that's why you're building a robot out of spare parts lifted from the Noise Tanks."

Tab nodded and pointed the tip of his screwdriver in Beat's direction. "Bingo. What do you have on your list?"

"Well, the government finally got its act together and has started expanding Benten-Cho, right? Rumor has it some new renegades have popped up in that area, and I figure I'll scope it out before the Noise Tanks can bounce back and launch their own recruitment drive." Beat ran an affectionate hand across Potts' head as the pup lunged for his food bowl. "I've heard a few good things about this one girl with frost-white hair and a scarf--hear she's really fast. Figure I'll send Mew or Garam out to race her."

"That sounds like a plan." Gum thrust herself forward with a grunt and leaned in towards the other two GGs, her elbows on her knees and her gloved hands dangling down between her calves. "Yo-Yo's following up a couple leads from the grapevine about a Rudie hanging out in Kibogaoka--but the guy's real elusive, so it'll be interesting to see how that pans out. Someone so fleetfooted'd be a nice addition to the ranks."

"Then if the rest of us keep up the street presence, we should be all set, especially with all these new sections being added onto Tokyo." Beat climbed up to his skates and stretched. "Tab, you'll be okay by your lonesome?"

"Hey, if I can have a couple hours to bury myself in work without interruption, I'm right as rain."

Gum got up too, and joined Beat near the door leading out. "Okay then, Fuzzhead. We'll catcha later."

Tab waved goodbye, and the others disappeared into the sunny Shibuya-Cho weather. He grinned to himself and went back to putting together his robot.


	2. Not Now, Must Yo Yo

**Title:** _Not Now, Must Yo-Yo_

**Fandom:** Jet Grind Radio

**Rating:** JET PG

**Word Count:** 372

**Timeline:** Following the events of Jet Grind Radio by a few days

**Summary:** Yo-Yo and Mew return to Benten-Cho for a little bonding time. Not really romantic, though.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Jet Set Radio, cuz if I did I'd make sure the series continued on! LOLZ, GUESS NOT.

---

Yo-Yo leaned over a rail overlooking the train graveyard, which spanned out further than his eyes could follow. The night sky of Benten-Cho held a red tinge, thanks to his sunglasses, and the nightlife noise had been muffled slightly by his hoodie. Mew sat on the ground next to him, dangling her legs out between the bars of the safety rail, kicking them slowly back and forth, back and forth, hypnotically.

Tonight, they occupied one of the bridges that crossed from the Business District to the Skyscraper District, their paint cans spread out in a pair of half-circles behind them; it was Rudie sign language for a lack of hostile intention, and the Noise Tanks would know to stay clear enough away from the two GGs as they reminisced.

Yo-Yo kept his wristwatch-radio off, for the time being, and Mew had turned the volume all the way down on her headphones. Aside from Benten's normal din, they had only silence between the two. Yo-Yo took a slow drag off a cigarette.

"It feels like ages since we were here last," Mew said at last, her voice light--sweet enough to fit into a song. She always sounded like that, she had since the two were little. "I mean, sure, we helped out during the Golden Rhino invasion..."

"Different times," Yo-Yo admitted, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Gotta agree with you, though. It feels like Benten's a different place than when we were growin' up here, y'know?"

"Yeah. I kinda miss it."

"But it also makes you wonder if that's really the case...or if we've simply grown up a little bit. It's certainly true that we're different people now than when we were kids. I'd be more inclined to believe that." His glasses slid down the bridge of his nose, and he pushed them back into place with a finger. "People are more prone to change than places. While we left school and joined the GGs, Benten continued on with its perpetual nightlife doldrums."

"Yeah...yeah, that's true." Mew pulled her legs through the bars of the rail and clambered up to her skates, dusting off her leggings. "Let's paint the town red, huh?"

"That's the best idea you've had all night, babe."


	3. Why Me?

**Title:** _Why Me?_

**Fandom:** Jet Grind Radio

**Word Count:** 560

**Rating:** PG

**Timeline:** Following Jet Grind Radio.

**Pairing:** Slate/Piranha

**Summary:** This is kind of an autoparody; back in the day of JGR Fiction, Slate/Piranha was an oft-used pairing, but I can't feel like it was only out of necessity--after all the other girls had been taken up, Slate usually went with Piranha because they were the last two characters you unlocked in the game (before the secret characters anyway). Here I'm just gonna explore that in-depth.

---

Kogane wasn't usually a good place for romance; Slate knew this for a fact, he spent a lot of his time growing up here, but Piranha had wanted to come anyway--to watch the sun set over Tokyo Bay. There were plenty other places to watch the sunset, Slate had argued--but Piranha's logic, as always, was flawless. Kogane didn't have the nickname "the City of Sunset" without reason; they always looked more spectacular here than in Benten or Shibuya, and she loved the way it reflected off the rippling surface of the water.

So Slate found himself in Piranha's company, the two lying on a slanted rooftop in the residential district. She had her fingers intertwined with his, and her other hand rested on his chest. It was as close to paradise as this ghetto could be.

The sun did hang particularly heavy this evening--swollen, low to the horizon, casting orange flickers of light onto the bay. Slate took a deep breath. He'd been meaning to ask her for ages now--and the moment brought his thought process to the forefront, buzzing against his forehead. He knew that if he didn't ask now, he wouldn't be able to enjoy what came later...but by the same token, if he _did_ ask, he might not even have a later at all. He let his breath out and wondered what to do, his thoughts taking him in circles.

"Somethin' on your mind, honey?"

Slate blinked and cast his gaze to Piranha, whose smooth, chocolate skin seemed to glow in the fading light. There was an earnest look in her eyes--it was hard not to look away.

"Do ya want me to be honest?" His voice came out more feeble than he'd meant it.

Piranha's lips, a delicious mango color, curled into a smile. "If we can't be honest with each other, what's the point of this relationship?"

This bolstered Slate's confidence. He took another deep breath and let his question out all at once. "Why did you pick me?"

"Huh?" She blinked, her smile falling into a puzzled frown.

"Like..." Slate felt his brow furrow. "You showed up at the Garage and you could have had your pick of anybody there.You're a complete babe, you're kind, you're smart...but you chose me. I ain't exactly George Clooney."

He braced himself for some kind of impact--but it never came. Instead, Piranha moved closer to him, pressing her body against his. She made sure to keep his eyes locked, though--and Slate didn't see any anger or resentment in them.

She smiled again, chuckling. "If I wanted George Clooney, I'd have gone for George Clooney--believe me, I'd'a gotten him, too! But that's not the point."

"What's the point, then?"

"The reason I chose to be with you over Beat or Combo or whoever--is because I like you as a person. When I showed up at the Garage and saw you, I didn't know what talking to you'd be like--but you proved to me that even a ghetto child can be courteous, generous and caring. And when I decided to ask you out that first time? By that point I had already fallen for you--every aspect of you. That includes how you look."

Slate was smiling too, now. "Thanks. 'Rhana."

"Don't mention it, babe. Now shush...let's watch the sunset."


	4. Something Different

**Title:** _Something Different_

**Fandom:** Jet Set Radio Future

**Word Count:** 508

**Rating:** R for drug use and implied sexual content.

**Timeline: **Following Jet Set Radio Future.

**Pairing:** Yoyo/Rhyth

**Summary:** And as much as Why Me? was an autoparody, this is more of a flat-out parody on the popular Yoyo/Rhyth pairing. I'm taking what almost everyone and their mother has done and trying something completely new with it, at the request of my friend Tallulah.

---

"It's a nice night."

"Yeah."

A moment of silence.

"I wish the stars were a little brighter, though."

Rhyth grinned despite herself. The world spun a little bit around them as she leaned in closer to her companion, but she pushed the sensation out of her mind. Part of her brain under the thick blanket of fuzz was glad that she didn't have vertigo--otherwise she might've taken a spill a long time ago.

"Don't worry," she said, putting her weight on Yoyo's shoulder. "One'a these days, you and I--we'll take a vacation to someplace quiet, like Okinawa. A nice, rural countryside--no bright neon lights, plenty'a stars."

Yoyo brought a smoldering blunt up to his lips and took a slow drag, the tip glowing red as he inhaled. He held the smoke in for a moment before blowing it out in a stream that wafted towards the clear midnight sky. "That sounds nice," he murmured, nodding. Rhyth couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses--_silly, wearing them at night_--but she knew he was sincere. He just didn't talk much when he was high.

Another moment.

"You sure you don't want some?" Rhyth held up a bottle of whiskey, the contents sloshing around inside. "I lifted this from the market in Highway Zero. It's not the best stuff, but it'll warm you from the inside."

"Hmm?" Yoyo cast a glance over to the bottle before shaking his head. "No, thanks. I tried whiskey once and I wouldn't stop hurling. Ain't keen on repeating that."

"Your loss." Rhyth grinned and placed the bottle's rim to her lips; she tilted back and let the liquid flow past her teeth, burning burning burning but so good. The fiery sensation lingered even as it rested in her belly. Bringing the bottle down, she gasped, giggled, her mind buzzing--but not drunk _yet_, no. "You need an iron liver."

"Mmm."

"I can train you," she said, her voice becoming low. She leaned in closer, so that her lips brushed against his ear--he jolted a little bit. He _loved_ when she did that, and she knew it. "I'll make you a lean, mean, drinking machine..."

"Maybe, but we'll start lighter, yo" he whispered back, a crooked smirk wriggling across his face--and that made her feel bubbly all over again, because that smirk defined him and she felt like he was Yoyo distilled when he did that. Confident--skilled--and imperfect, but his flaws (like his low tolerance for booze) made him that much more real, so attractive. "And only if you promise me a quickie."

"Like this?" She wrapped her fingers around Yoyo's free hand and led it under her skirt, where his own digits instantly--instinctually--started to work, sending supercharged tingles up her spine. "I'm already livin' up to my end. _You_ gotta promise _me_ now."

"Okay, okay." He laughed--rich, but throaty due to the marijuana. "I am your humble pupil, _Sifu_ Rhyth."

"Good. We'll begin training tomorrow once the sun goes down."

"Yes sir--I mean, ma'am."


End file.
